Disaster Funeral Assistance in Georgia

Funeral Assistance may be available to eligible individuals and households who incurred expenses related to a death or disinterment attributed directly or indirectly to Tropical Storm Debby, Aug. 4-20, 2024, or Hurricane Helene.

Funeral Assistance

Even if you live outside one of the 61 disaster-designated counties, you may still qualify for Funeral Assistance if the death - or injury resulting in death - or disinterment occurred within the disaster area.

• The disaster-designated counties in Georgia are Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Fulton, Glascock, Glynn, Hancock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, McDuffie, McIntosh, Montgomery, Newton, Pierce, Rabun, Richmond, Screven, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne and Wheeler.

Eligible Expenses

FEMA's Other Needs Assistance (ONA) program provides assistance with certain eligible disaster-caused funeral expenses.

Eligible expenses may include cost of transfer of remains, casket or urn, funeral services, death certificates, burial plot, cremation, interment, cost of reinterment if disinterment is caused by the disaster, and/or occurs in a family cemetery on private property.

Funeral Assistance does not cover the cost of obituaries, flowers, catering, or gratuities.

Eligibility Criteria

• You (or someone in your household, including a minor child) must be a U.S. citizen, noncitizen national, or qualified alien, and FEMA must be able to verify your identity.
• You must prove that you are responsible for the funeral or reinterment costs with either paid receipts or verifiable estimates.

To verify eligibility, FEMA will need:

• An official state-issued death certificate or a signed statement from a medical examiner, coroner or other certifier stating that the death was directly or indirectly related to Tropical Storm Debby or Hurricane Helene.
• Evidence of an unmet funeral expense - a receipt or verifiable estimates for funeral expenses that indicate the applicant incurred, or will incur, eligible interment, reinterment, or funeral expenses.
• Confirmation that funeral expenses have not been paid using other resources. By law, FEMA cannot provide you a grant when any other source - Social Security or Veterans Affairs benefits - has covered expenses for the same disaster-related need.
• You must submit documentation of burial insurance and/or any forms of funeral assistance you received from voluntary agencies, government agencies or other entities.

For the latest information about Georgia's recovery, visit fema.gov/helene/georgia. Follow FEMA Region 4 @FEMARegion4 on X or follow FEMA on social media at: FEMA Blog on fema.gov, @FEMA or @FEMAEspanol on X, FEMA or FEMA Espanol on Facebook, @FEMA on Instagram, and via FEMA YouTube channel. Also, follow Administrator Deanne Criswell on Twitter @FEMA_Deanne.

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